Molecular structures and crystal packings of 2-styrylquinoxaline derivatives

The crystal and molecular structures of 2-styrylquinoxaline derivatives with different substituents in the styryl fragment are determined. The degree of planarity of the molecules studied varies in a very wide range, from 1.7° to 33.5°. In the ethylene fragment, the double bond is essentially localized. The bicycle-pedal disordering of the ethylene fragment is found in the crystals of the methoxy and oxyacetyl derivatives of 2-styrylquinoxaline. None of the packings contains packing motifs favorable for the photocycloaddition (PCA) reaction with single crystal retention. The crystal packings of these compounds and that of 2-(4-methylstyryl)quinoxaline are characterized by a stacking motif of the head-to-head type, which eliminates the possibility of PCA taking place with single crystal retention but is suitable for this reaction in polycrystalline films. The crystal packing of 2-(3,4-dimethoxystyryl)quinoxaline does not contain elements with stacking interactions.